The prevalence of the Internet has led to unprecedented growth in communication networks. Consumer demand for service and increased competition has caused network providers to continuously find ways to improve quality of service while reducing cost.
Certain solutions have included the deployment of high-density network panels. These panels are designed to consolidate the increasing volume of interconnections necessary to support the fast-growing networks into a compacted space, thereby increasing quality of service and decreasing costs such as floor space and support overhead. High-density network panels may contain a large number of ports to accommodate the large number of connections often necessary to connect the network panels with the network switches or other network end terminals. The panels' ports are generally designed to mate with connectors that contain two fibers (herein referred to as a 2-fiber connector) where one fiber transmits data (Tx) and the other fiber receives data (Rx). It is common to have a number of 2-fiber connectors, such as six 2-fiber connectors, from the network panel combined together into a fan-out jumper. In this design, the 2-fiber connectors and their fibers couple through a fan-out block and into a single cable, such as a 12-fiber cable. A multi-fiber push-on (MPO) connector, such as a 12-fiber MPO connector, is usually mounted at the end of the single cable to connect to a transceiver located at the network switch or other network end terminal. The transceiver can then manage a large number of fibers and 2-fiber connectors using the fan-out jumper and connect to a large number of ports from the network panels.
Fan-out jumpers with 2-fiber Tx-Rx connectors may require individual ports for each Tx-Rx network connection; however, due to their design, they may create fiber management and maintenance issues for the operator that are challenging and undesirable. For instance, in a fan-out jumper with one 12-fiber MPO connector and six 2-fiber connectors, the MPO connector activates all 12 fibers as soon as it is plugged into the transceiver. However, this is convenient if there are six Tx-Rx ports that need service simultaneously on the network panel. This can cause some or all of the six Tx-Rx ports to become interrupted due to a malfunction with the MPO connector at the transceiver. Moreover, repairing the MPO connector will interrupt all 6 Tx-Rx ports as soon as the MPO connector is unplugged for troubleshooting, which may lead to an unnecessary interruption of services. Furthermore, if the network switch has 12-fiber MPO type transceivers and only one network panel Tx-Rx port coupled to a 2-fiber jumper connector needs service, this results in five additional 2-fiber connectors that are “active” but not utilized from the cable jumper. The unused but active 2-fiber connectors then need to be stored along with some lengths of 2-fiber cables until a future need is realized, adding to the fiber management problems. Additionally, 2-fiber connectors from one 12-fiber MPO fan-out jumper may not be able to reach Tx-Rx ports on the network panel needing service, in which case another transceiver would need to be powered up and another 12-fiber MPO fan-out jumper would need to be added to the equipment racks. If the length of the 12-fiber MPO fan-out jumper was determined based on the Tx-Rx port farthest from the transceiver, then there would be excessively long 2-fiber connector cables to manage when nearby Tx-Rx ports are serviced, again adding to the problem of fiber management. It is most desired to manage or “dress” the cables in horizontal and vertical cable troughs and not crossover the equipment in diagonal “short-cuts”, as this causes equipment access and cable identification problems.
Certain available ferrules and connectors may be designed to couple with fan-out jumper and high-density network panels but their dimensions are not optimized for 2-fiber applications. For instance, MPO connectors are commonly configured for 2 to 36 fiber ribbon cables and are therefore much bigger than what is needed for two fiber applications with the same fiber-to-fiber center distance of about 0.25 mm. MPO connectors are about 7.6 mm high, 12.4 mm wide, 25.7 mm long (without including the strain relief boot), and MPO ferrules have a frontal contact surface of about 2.5 mm high and 6.4 mm wide. In contrast, MT-RJ connectors are configured for cable with a smaller number of fiber ribbons, such as 1 to 4 fibers, but they are larger than what is needed for two-fiber applications. MT-RJ connectors are about 10 mm high, 9.2 mm wide, 20 mm long (without including the strain relief boot), and MT-RJ ferrules have a frontal contact surface of about 2.5 mm high and 4.4 mm wide. Also, LC and SC duplex connectors may be designed for 2-fiber applications but their overall dimensions are not optimized to address the high-density requirement of high-density network panels. LC duplex connectors are about 12.7 mm high, 12.8 mm wide, 27.3 mm long (without including the strain relief boot), and SC duplex connectors are about 9.3 mm high, 24.2 mm wide, 25.2 mm long (without including the strain relief boot).
The width of connectors designed to couple with fan-out jumper and high-density network panel is too wide to fit two connectors into a single transceiver, limiting the transceiver connectivity. Transceivers have an average width of about 15 mm and the total width of two of the above-mentioned connectors is larger than 15 mm. There is, therefore, not enough space to have two connectors per transceiver and the separating wall necessary to separate them.
For 2-fiber jumper connectors coupled to fan-out jumpers and high-density network panels, adjacent connectors and cable assemblies may obstruct access to the individual release mechanisms at the Tx-Rx network panel port. Such physical obstructions may impede the ability of an operator to minimize the stresses applied to the cables and the connectors. For example, these stresses may be applied when the user reaches into a dense group of jumper connectors and pushes aside surrounding cables to access an individual connector release mechanism with his/her thumb and forefinger. Overstressing the cables and connectors may produce latent defects, compromise the integrity and/or reliability of the terminations, and potentially cause serious disruptions to network performance.
While an operator may attempt to use a tool, such as a screwdriver, to reach into the dense group of 2-fiber jumper connectors and activate the release mechanism, the adjacent cables and connectors may obstruct the operator's line of sight, making it difficult to guide the tool to the release mechanism without pushing aside the surrounding cables. Moreover, even when the operator has a clear line of sight, guiding the tool to the release mechanism may be a time-consuming process. Thus, using a tool may not be effective at reducing support time and increasing the quality of service.
The latching mechanism of connectors and adaptors designed for fan-out jumpers and high-density network panels is not optimized. For instance, in order to actuate, the latching mechanism often requires many parts (e.g., latching body, latching arm, latching spring, latching hole, latching flange) that are coupled to the connector and adaptor and that are often made of plastic. This increases the complexity and cost of fabrication of the connectors and adaptors due to the many parts that need to be assembled, increases the complexity of the latching mechanism due to the many parts that need to couple to actuate, limits the minimum thickness of the different parts and consequently the minimum size of the connectors and adaptors due to the weak strength of plastic, and limits the life of the connectors and adaptors due to the low resistance of plastic and the friction between the different parts that can quickly damage the connections. In addition, the latching mechanism often requires from the operator many steps to operator. This increases the complexity to operate the latching mechanism, the time the operator needs to couple the connector with the adaptor, and the chance that the operator makes a mistake and damage the connector and adaptor.
Accordingly, there remains a critical need for a better-designed fan-out jumper that meets the requirements of high-density network panels.